Council postpones actions on ordinances

In a meeting delayed a week because of the weather, the Demopolis City Council Thursday postponed action on two ordinances to make sure things were done legally.

At the meeting Feb. 3, the Council approved suspending rules and passed a Food Truck Ordinance which will allow mobile vans to dispense food in the city. Thursday Councilman Charles Jones questioned whether the vote was legal since no public hearing was conducted on the ordinance.

That led the Council to delay the proposed ordinance on Apartment Complexes Security Plan Requirements, an issue that had been raised over the last few meetings.

Councilmen also postponed action on a proposed rezoning of property at 207 U.S. Hwy. 80 W from O-1 Office Institutional to an R-1 Single Family Residential. Brad Sorrels, owner of the house and property in question, said the sole purpose for wanting to revert it to residential in order for him to secure financing.

Public hearings will be held at the second Council meeting in March since the regularly scheduled meeting next week does not allow for a two-week notice.

The Council approved:

• A one-year contract renewal with Avenu Insights and Analytics LLC for tax administration and discovery recovery for business license contracts.
• A resolution approving a $198,000 grant from the Delta Regional Authority to pave the South Industrial Park Road. The grant will be matched with $21,000 from the Demopolis Industrial Development Board at no cost to the city.
• Naming Mayor Woody Collins as a voting delegate to the Alabama League of Municipalities meeting in Tuscaloosa May 11-14, with City Clerk Sam Gross as the alternate.

The mayor announced he is appointing a committee to review ADA requirements at crosswalks. Current rules require ADA upgrades only if the intersections are rebuilt, but Collins wants to see if some intersections can be made safer for handicapped individuals.

He also appointed Bessie Besteder to a vacancy on the Housing Authority Board.

Collins said Demopolis CATV announced a rate hike of $3 to $64 a month. The contract with the cable company expires in October and is being updated.

During Council discussion, Jones asked that the city consider developing long-range plans to alleviate the traffic on U.S. Hwy. 80 from Demopolis High School. That prompted Councilman Jim Stanford to comment that Maria Street is being torn up by heavy trucks, and a bypass should be considered.  “We’re losing Maria,” he said. “It’s failing.”